The top stories of 2017 – part 2: Glory, greed, drugs and surprises

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TSX HEADLINES – for Dec. 28, 2017: This was the year that Usain Bolt retired, but not the way he envisioned. Mo Farah won one and lost one at the World Championships, but no one saw the stunner of the women’s Steeplechase coming.

American Caeleb Dressel equaled Michael Phelps’s record of seven gold medals in one World Swimming Championships, but no else had ever won three golds in a single day.

Those were the competitive highlights of 2017, moments we will always remember. But there were other moments, about bribery and drugs and an Olympic bid process that ended up in a way not seen for a century.

Which was the no. 1 Olympic-sport story of 2017? We complete our list and you can review our selections in our Lane One commentary, plus what you need to know about:

(1) ALPINE SKIING: The unstoppable Mikaela Shiffrin might be on her way to breaking open the seasonal World Cup race starting this weekend. She’s the best Slalom skier in the world and Thursday starts a run of seven straight Slalom or Giant Slalom races; can she win them all?

(2) NORDIC COMBINED & SKI JUMPING: The winner-goes-to-Korea U.S. Olympic Trials for both sports are on Saturday in Park City, Utah. Our preview and the likely contenders!

(3) THE TICKER: Japanese organizers looking to use a facial recognition system to bolster access control for athletes, coaches, officials and news media for the 2020 Games in Tokyo!

This issue includes SCENE & HEARD on Anti-Doping ~ Athletics ~ Cycling ~ Judo; ON DECK previews of Alpine Skiing ~ Cross Country ~ Ice Hockey ~ Nordic Combined ~ Ski Jumping, and AGENDA, our calendar of top-level international events.

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